Chlorine in Cleaning Water

[lhommedieu]

I understand the importance of removing chlorine from brewing water - but what about water used to clean equipment, flush lines, etc.? The last flush that I use is with boiling water, so can I assume that there will not be any chlorine left in the lines and valves?

 

[mabrungard]

If all of your piping is metal, then you might be able to assure that there is no chlorine residue in the system. However, if there are plastic hoses or tubing, there is a decent chance that some chlorine will infuse into those components and screw your next beer.

Why are you using any chlorine products in your brewery? They have no place in brewing and there are less problematic cleaning products out there.

 

[The_Bishop]

Maybe he's talking about municipal water that already has chlorine added to it?

 

[Braufessor]

I try to avoid it at the end.... I filter the water I use for starsan for example.

General "cleaning" is done with tap water and I take a towel and give it a quick dry to get excess off. I don't rerinse everything with dechlorinated water though, if that is what you are asking.
But, my fermenter, for example - the last thing that touches that is starsan, and that is with carbon filtered water.

 

[IslandLizard]

If you're talking about the amount of chlorine in the water that clings to the equipment after rinsing with your chlorinated domestic tap water, I'd say that's totally negligible.

For Starsan I do filter tap water and treat with Campden. It still gets cloudy after a few days, but pH stays within range.

 

[lhommedieu]

If all of your piping is metal, then you might be able to assure that there is no chlorine residue in the system. However, if there are plastic hoses or tubing, there is a decent chance that some chlorine will infuse into those components and screw your next beer.

Agreed. My hbss guy says to never rinse kegorator lines and taps with chlorinated water for this reason.

Why are you using any chlorine products in your brewery? They have no place in brewing and there are less problematic cleaning products out there.

As stated above, I am only talking abut cleaning and rinsing my equipment with tap water. As the last rinse is done with water that has been brought to a boil, I think that all that I need to do is to make sure that the boil is long enough to throw off any residual chlorine, so that the last rinse with de-chlorinated water flushes any chlorine out of the system.

 

[IslandLizard]

[...] As stated above, I am only talking abut cleaning and rinsing my equipment with tap water. As the last rinse is done with water that has been brought to a boil, I think that all that I need to do is to make sure that the boil is long enough to throw off any residual chlorine, so that the last rinse with de-chlorinated water flushes any chlorine out of the system.

If you're using Starsan after the last rinse, that final rinse with boiled water seems to be unnecessary.

Boiling will remove chlorine, but it takes a while. If Chloramines are present, they'll remain in there. A 1/4 Campden tablet (Potassium Metabisulphite) per 5 gallons will remove both without going through the trouble and cost of boiling.

 

[lhommedieu]

No chloramine in my water. I'm not using StarSan - so the boiling water is a must to flush out my closed system just prior to brewing. Perhaps the use of a Campden tablet prior to the first flush with a cleaner mitigates my concerns about chlorine in my cleaning water? Of course, I could always just leave the water out and uncovered overnight, and then pump to a secondary container for heating.

Thanks for being a sounding board for my musings about how I'm going to approach cleaning and sanitizing.

 

[IslandLizard]

Sounds like you're using a CIP. They make a foamless Starsan just for that.

I really doubt that a tank full of chlorinated water will dissipate all the chlorine overnight. Call MythBusters?

 

[lhommedieu]

News to me. I'll check it out...

Edit: While not dispositive, this thread appears to address the issue of leaving water out overnight in a positive light. I've always accepted it a CW; where do you hear that leaving water out will not dispel chlorine?